Refrigerator



Oct. 18 1927. 1,646,241

G. J. GRUENDLER REFRIGERATOR Filed A g. 2, .1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 1s, 1927. 1,646,241 G. J. GRUENDLER REFRIGERATOR Filed u z. 2, 26 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 E51 l Patented Oct. 18, 1927.

UNITED s'TATEsj PATENT OFFICE.

GUSTAV J. GRUENDLER, CLAYTON, MISSOURI.

REFRIGERATOR.

Application led August 2, 1926. Serial No. 126,654.

therein is directed towards providing a re-l frigerator wherein the refrigerant containers for coolinv the storage chamber are so positioned and arranged that the storage chamber of therefrigerator will extend the whole length thereof; and to provide in a refrigerator one or more refrigerant con- I tainers which may be quickly and easily charged with a refrigerant and which may be quickly and easily emptied and then removed froin the refrigerator to be cleaned.

In my pending'application referred to labove I have described one practical enil bodiment of my invention, but I have found that where the invention described in that application is used and embodied in a refrigerator in which cracked ice and salt are used as the refrigerant, when the ice has partly melted, due to the fact that the means for preventing the brine resulting from the melting of the ice from accumulating above a predetermined level is positioned in the header ofthe refrigerant container the unmelted ice remaining in the container will float to the surface of the brine in the header. This means that after about one half of the ice in the container has melted there will be no ice in the tubes as the remaining ice will be carried into the header. As this ice melts some of the brine resulting from the melting will pass directly into the overfiow pipe and will be discharged from the refrigerator through the waste pipe. The result is a waste smce at times some of the freshest and coldest brine is discharged from the refrigerator. Further, under such conditions'there is no rapid circulation of the brine in the refrigerant container, but, on

the contrary, circulation of the brine in the tubes of the refrigerant container becomes sluggish and the brine quickly loses 1n part -its usefulness as a cooling medium.

The object of this invention is to correct these deficiencies of structure in the embodiment of my invention wherein the refrigerant container is adapted to be filled with cracked ice and salt and, in addition, to provide a refrigerant container for a refrigerator of the type described above so constructed and arranged that the fresh brine resulting from the melting of the'ice in the container will be kept in the container as long as possible and thevold brine Will be drained from the container; and to provide a refrigerantl container so constructed and arranged that there will be a constant movement or circulation of brine throu h the i whole container, which movement o brine will carry the ice from the header into the arms extending from the header.

For the sake of clarity of description my present invention is shown embodied in a refrigerator substantially similar, with the exception of the construction of the refrigerant container and other details of structure as will be noted herein, to the refrigerator described in my pending application Serial N0.11o,929. I

In the accompanying drawings wherein one embodiment of my invention is shown, Figs. 1 and 2 are to and back'views, respectively, of the re rigerator; Fig. 3 is a section along the line 3 3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a front view, partly in section as shown by the line 4-4 in Fig. l; and Fig. 5 is a section along the line 5--5 in Fig. 4.

Referring tothe figures, the refrigerator has an elongated storage chamber 1 therein which, preferably, has the front transparent panels 2 and the top transparent panels 3. The rear wall of the storage chamber for a portion of its length is inclined, as shown `in Fig. 5, and has mounted therein a plurality of doors 4 which may contain transparent panels and which are positioned and arranged so that articles may be put into or taken from the storage chamber 1,through the door o enings. The storage chamber 1 also has a ottom wall 5 which, in this form of my invention, is positioned above the bottom of the refrigerator, since, as shown, thev storage chamber is formed only in the upper part of the refrigerator. The up er surface 5 of the bottom wall 5 is, pre erably, inclined downwardly from the back of the storage chamber towards the front thereof, as shown in Fig. 5, for the purposes more fully hereinafter set forth.` All of the Walls of the storage chamber are, of course, properly insulated. A shelf 6 for provisions and, preferably, made ina number of'sections to facilitate its removal from the storage chamber, is supportedy by the S-shaped han ers 7 and the angle brackets 8 mounted on t e back and front walls, respectively, of the refrigerator at intervals along the length of the shelf 6, as clearly shown in Figs. 4

and 5.

I prefer that if' the refrigerator is comparatively long, as shown in the drawings, two of the ice containers embodying my invention and constructed as described vbelow be used. The ice containers are preferably positioned along the bottom wall 5 of the storage chamber but spaced therefrom by means of the spacing vstrips 22. Each of the ice containers comprising a header 9 consisting of an upper portion and a plurality of downwardly extending legs 10 and a plurality of arms 11, one of which extends outwardly from, referably, each of the legs 10 at substantially the lower end thereof. The arms 11 may be formed substantially rectangular in cross section in order that a maximum of cooling surface will be exposed to the air in the storage chamber. The header is open at the top so that it can be easil and quickly charged with ice, and

v the ownwardly extending legs 10 are spaced apart to forma plurality of air spaces extending transversely through the header between adjacent legs.

I prefer that the means forpreventing accumulation of brine above a predetermined level in the ice container be positioned at the outer end of the arms 11, that is to say, that it be positioned at the end of the arm 11 farthest from the header- 9. In this embodiment of my invention the means for preventing accumulation of brine above a predetermined level in the ice container consists ofan overflow pipe 13 positioned at the outer end of each of the arms 11. The overow ipe 13 is threaded into a boss 141L fixed to tiie bottom of the arm 11 and with the opening through the overflow pipe registering with a hole in the bottom of the arm.

Perforations 15 in the overflow pipe may be positioned at any point in the length thereof to maintain any predetermined level of brine in the container as hereinafter explained. The overfiow pipe 13 is preferably long enough so that the upper end thereof extends through the opening 16 in the top of the arm 11. A cap 17 may be provided over the opening 16 and the upper end of the overflow pipe 13, all as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

An elongated sump 18 is arranged at the front end of the bottom wall 5 to extend under the discharge openings of all of the overflow pipes 13, and as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 has in substantially the longitudinal center thereof a well 20 into which brine iiowing into the sump will drain. The waste pipe 19 has the upper end thereof projectlng upwardly a short distance above the well 20, and a cap 21 may be provided, over the projecting upper end of the waste pipe 19.

.I prefer that the ice containers be posi-v tioned in the storage chamber with the headers 9 at the rear end thereof and the arms 11 extending forwardly so that the front of the storage chamber will be open and an unobstructed view of the provisions stored therein may be had. Also, as de scribed above, since the ice containers are positioned along the bottom wall 5 of the storage chamber, and, since the upper surface 5aof the bottom wall is inclined downwardly from back to front, the ice containers will be also inclined downwardly to follow the inclination of the upper surface 5, as clearly shown in Fig. 5. The header y9 is positioned at the back of the refrigerator so that it may be more readily charged with cracked ice and salt.

The rear wall of the refrigerator has, preferably in that part thereof which is substantially horizontal, one or more substantially horizontally disposed openings 23 as long as one of the containers and normally closed by a closure 24, preferably, mounted on the wall by means of the hinges 25. Likewise the rear wall has therein a substantially vertically disposed opening 26 as long as one of the containers and otherwise adapted and arranged so that one of the containers may be moved therethrough from the re` frigerator, as hereinafter set forth. Each of the openings 26 is normally closed by a closure 27, preferably, mounted on the rear wall by means of the hinges 28.

The usual scale stand 29 may be provided at the back of the refrigerator, as shown in the figures. Also a shelf 30 for storing imperishable goods may be arranged in the lower part of the refrigerator.

The operation of this form of refrigerator embodying my invention is as follows:

lWhen the containers are in position in the storage chamber the closures24 are swung away from the openings 23 and cracked ice and salt is poured into each of the containers through'the open tops of the headers 9, and is forced into the downwardly extending legs 10 and into the arms 11 extending outwardly from these legs. I prefer that the openings of the arms 11 into the lower ends of the legs 10 be substantially the same area as the cross section of the arms since I have found that if the ice container is formed in this way the cracked ice may be quickly and easily tamped into the arms to fill them throughout their entire length. A shield 31 extending outwardly from the rear wall of the refrigerator across the space between the rear wall and the back of each of the headers 9 may be provided, as shown in Fig. 5, to prevent any of the cracked ice from falling downwardly at the back of the headers into are each spaced from the bottom wall of brine will be collected in the lower part of the container until it has reached the level indicated by the broken line in Fig. 5 andv thereafter anyfsurplus brine resulting from the melting of the ice will pass through the ,perforations and the overflow pipes 13 and then into the sump 18 and well 20 from Where it will flow from the refrigerator.

' Since the ice container inclines downwardly from back to front, as described above, the brine resulting from the melting of the ice will first collect in the front or outer ends of the' arms 11, and as more brine collects the level of the brine will mount rearwardly until it has reached the lower ends of the legs 10 of the header 9 and will then mount in the legs until it has reached the levelallowed by the overflow pipe 13. It may readilv be seen that since the ow of brine is towards the outer end of the arms 11 .there Will be a tendency for the flow to carry the cracked ice into the arms 11 and as the ice melts there will always be ice in the arms until all the ice has disappeared. Further, the brine resulting from the melting of the ice in the header 9 of the ice'container must `flow completely through the ice container from back to front and thereby eifect as much cooling as possible before it is allowed to be discharged through theL overflow pipe 13.

Since, as set forth above, the containers the storage chamber by means of the spacing strips 22 and as the air spaces 12 are formed between adjacent legs 10 the air in the storage chamber may freely circulate through the header 9 down at the back and forwardly along the arms 11, and this air,

after contacting with all of these cold surfaces of the ice container, is discharged into the storage chamber 1. As described above, the upper surface 5a of the bottom wall 5 of the storage chamber is inclined downwardly from back to front and, therefore, as the air is cooled and flows downwardly and forwardly in the storage compartment, the inclination of the upper surface 5it will aid this circulation and movement of the air. By constructing the ice container with the downwardly extending legs 10 to form the air spaces 12 extending transversely through the header 9 between adjacent legs and by forming the arms 1, in the manner shown, with minimum outside dimensions of the container a maximum of cooling surface is exposed to the air of the storage chamber 1.

When Aall the ice is melted and it is desired to clean or repair the containers, the

closures 27 are swung awayfrom the vertically disposed openings 26 and the overflow pipes 13 are unscrewed from each of the arms 11 thereby allowing the collected brine in the containers to drain therefrom through the'holes in the bosses 14 in the arms. The containers will then be empty and light and may be veasily removed through the openings 26. tainers have been cleaned they are replaced through the openings 26, the overflow pipes 13 are screwed into the bosses 14, and the containersare charged with ice, as above described.

It may be readily understood that the details of construction and the form, shape andl sizeof the various parts of the refrig- After the conerator may be varied within wide limits without deviating from the spirit of my invention as embodied in the clalms below.

' What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. An ice container for refrigerators comprising header and a lurality of arms extending therefrom, and) each of said arms having an overflow pipe positioned at the outer end thereof arranged to collect la predetermined amount of brine therein and to prevent accumulation of brine above a predetermined level in said container. j

2. An ice container for refrigerators comprising a header consisting of an upper portion and a plurality of legs extending downwardly therefrom and transversely thereof, and a plurality of arms one of which extends outwardly from each of said legs at substantially the lower end thereof, Said legs being closed at their 'lower ends and being spaced apart to provide an air space between adjacent legs.

3.. An ice container for refrigerators comprismg a header consisting of an upper portion and a plurality of legs extending downwardlv therefrom and transversely thereof, a plurality of arms one ofwhich extends outwardly, from each of said legs at substantially the lower end thereof, said legs being closed at their lower ends and being spaced apart to provide a plurality of air spaces extending through said header from front to back thereof, and means positioned,

at the outer ends of said arms for preventing accumulation of brine above a predeter-V mined level in said ice container.

4. A refrigerator having a storage chamber therein, an ice container positioned in said storage chamber and. comprising a header and a plurality of arms extending therefrom, means positioned at the outer ends of said arms arranged to collect a predetermined amount of brine therein and to prevent accumulation of brine above a predetermined level in' said ice container.

5. A refrigerator having a storage chamber therein, an ice contamer positloned .in

lll

said storage chamber and comprising a,

ing

ber therein, an ice container positioned along the bottom wall vof said storage chamber and substantially coextensive therewith and comprising a header consisting ofan upper portion and a plurality of legs extending downwardly therefrom, a plurality of arms one of which extends outwardly from each of l said legs at substantially the lower end thereof, and'means positioned at'the outer ends of said armsor preventing accumulation of brine'above a predetermined level in said ice container.

7. A refrigerator having a storage chamber therein, an ice container positioned along and space-d from the bottom wall of said storage chamber, said ice container being constructed and arranged whereby the brine resulting from the melting of the ice therein Hows therethrough, and the upper surtace of said bottom wall being inclined downwardly in the direction of the flow of said brine.

8. A refrigerator having a storage chamber therein, a refrigerant container positioned along and spaced from the bottom wall of said storage chamber, said refrigerant container having a header adapted to be filled with ice, and the upper surface of the bottom wall of said storage chamber being inclined downwardly from said header.

9. A refrigerator having a storage chamber therein, anv ice container positioned along the bottom wall of said storage chamber and comprising a header and a plurality of arms extending therefrom, means positioned at the outer ends of said arms' for preventing accumulation of brine above a predetermined level in said container, and the upper surface of the bottom wall of said storage chamber being inclined downwardly from said header towards the outer ends of said arms.

10.- A refrigerator having a storage chamber therein, an ice container positioned alon the bottom wall of said storage chamber an substantially coextensive therewith and comprising a hea-der consisting of an upper portion with a plurality of legs extending downvwardly therefrom, a plurality of arms one of which extends outwardly from each of e said legs, said legs being spaced apart to provide an air space between adjacent legs, means positioned at the outer ends of each of said arms `for preventing accumulation of brine above a predetermined level in said i container, the upper surface of the bottom wall of said storage chamber being inclined downwardly from said header towards the outer ends of said arms.

In witness whereof I have signed my name .to this specification.

GUSTAV J. GRUENDLER. 

